The present invention relates generally to all types of footwear, including casual shoes, dress shoes, athletic shoes and sandals, and specifically to an improved sole and footwear incorporating such soles.
The advantages of a gas filled sole are well known and are discussed in some detail in a number of patents, such as the discussions in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,009,637 and 6,192,606. Soles filled with gasses provide stability, anti-gravity and resiliency superior to that achievable with material soles. The choice of gas or gas mixtures combined with fluidic polymeric material used in soles affects not only mechanism of the footwear sole but also the degree of resiliency and elasticity of the mechanism and the movement of the sole by increasing or decreasing the rigidity and flexibility of the socket by inflating with the fluidic polymeric compound through a valve in the socket casing of the present invention. This enables the wearer to use the same shoes with varying sole hardness corresponding to different activities and occasions. Also the action of the helium bladder with the corresponding action of the opposing polarity of the magnets is an optimum choice of gas pressed by magnetic force for use in soles. It is particularly for use in athletic shoes which will utilize the body pressure on the magnets of the socket casing in the shoe sole to provide a substantial body rebound action for running, which recycles and helps age-defying conservation of body energy. Despite the need for resiliency and the movement mechanism of the socket casing, the sole of the footwear must also provide sufficient support to the foot and must be sufficiently durable to provide stability and an acceptable service. Furthermore, it is advantageous for the amount of support and resilience provided by the sole to different areas of the foot to vary as the stride of the wearer progresses. That is, in walking, jogging or running, the area of the foot in contact with the ground rotates from the heel to the ball of the foot. In the present invention, magnetic pads with opposing poles are positioned in these areas of the socket casing to work with the helium in the bladder to assist the gas to flow into and out of the connecting chambers of the bladder, which are also lying beneath the ball and the heel areas of the foot. Because of the lightweight of helium, as the gas moves between the chambers, and by utilizing the polarity of the magnetic pads to create an opposite push back which will have a significant effect on the helium movement, the present invention thus imparts a lift to the foot facilitating the natural roll of the stride.
The present invention is an improvement to the invention disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,606 issued on Feb. 27, 2001 and entitled xe2x80x9cHelium Filled Sole.xe2x80x9d The ""606 patent describes a sole with a helium bladder having core modules filled with helium. One of the difficulties associated with the type of helium filled soles described in the ""606 patent is the propensity of the helium to move through the bladder rapidly. The present invention controls this characteristic of helium by utilizing the pressure of the foot contact to the magnetic pads of opposing poles to create a natural mechanism for the helium rebound action. The present invention thus provides a sole, which impedes uncontrolled flowing of the helium throughout the bladder, and uses the magnetic poles to create a natural orderly movement pattern for the helium. As discussed in the earlier ""606 patent, the foot can generate great amounts of pressure during any kind of ambulation, including walking, jogging and running. Footwear manufacturers and designers attempt to ameliorate the discomfort of the foot and ankle with an air sole or by using softer materials to construct either the sole or as padding on top of the soles of footwear. Soles comprised of a soft material are generally not as durable as soles made of rigid or semi-rigid materials. Inserted insole padding materials have a tendency to flatten and compress with use thereby decreasing the cushioning provided to the foot. The present invention has a three fold solution to these problems with 1) a valve in the socket casing that enables the wearer to increase or decrease the amount of fluidic polymeric material in between the socket casing and helium bladder according to the degree of support or cushioning needed and may also be used for a hidden total height increase of up to two (2) centimeters, 2) a valve for the helium bladder which enables the wearer to increase or decrease the amount of helium in the bladder according to the degree of helium rebound action required and can raise the height of the bladder core up to one-half (xc2xd) centimeter and 3) a topmost surface in the form of an orthopedic type molded foot bed with a beaded surface and which, when the socket casing is adjusted as previously stated above in 1), adjusts to further accommodate the foot for better fit while also stabilizing the foot without any need for an insole. Still other manufacturers offer air bag soles to be used for shock absorption. Such soles, however, have been known to cause discomfort to the ankle. A study by a group of orthopedic doctors shows that air bags had a major impact on a lot of twisting foot ankle injuries due to the instability of the foot. This has been solved in the present invention. Air bags also do not provide a pressure absorbing and down grading motion to our foot strike while in return the natural magnetic force will create an opposite push back which will have a significant effect on the helium to recycle and provide a lift and elasticity obtainable with only the soles of the present invention.
There is a need, therefore, for a sole with a different approach, which provides stable adjustable support and rebound action for energy recycling and conservation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic adjustable mechanism socket casing with an accommodating orthopedic type molded and beaded foot bed in a footwear sole that accommodates an adjustable helium filled bladder and utilizes the polarity of the magnets to create a mechanism to effectively control the flow of the helium creating a rebound movement under our feet producing a natural massage while providing stable support and recycling and conserving energy and is a total replacement of a regular insole and mid-sole.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sole with a socket casing of superior cushioning properties.
The present invention provides a sole which contains a socket casing with an accommodating orthopedic type molded and beaded foot bed enclosing an adjustable helium injected bladder surrounded by upper and lower magnetic pads of opposing poles that produces a mechanism to control the flow of the helium from the heel area to the ball area and back when foot pressure is released and which fluidly conforms to the shape of the foot during the stride. More specifically, the sole of the present invention is comprised of four sections: (1) a socket casing approximately the shape of the footwear with an accommodating orthopedic type molded foot bed having a heel cup, arch support, toe ridge and small rounded protrusion-like bumps molded in the upper surface of synthetic materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), thermo plastic urethane (TPU), liner low density polyethylene (LLDPE), other types of polyurethane (PU), and/or other short chain alkene polymers, and an inner surface of synthetic materials having molded indentations of substantially the same shape as the bladder embedded with magnetic pads of opposing poles, enclosing (2) a helium filled bladder adjustable through a valve in the socket casing, with a plurality of chambers with a heel and ball area positioned between the upper and lower embedded magnetic pads, (3) an outsole having substantially the same shape as the heel and ball section of said socket casing, made of a plurality of layers of synthetic material, such as polyisoprene and polyisobutylene attached to the outsole by means of snap-like fasteners or other usual attachment methods such as adhesive glue or injection; and (4) a layer of a fluidic polymeric material between said socket casing and said bladder, which is adjustable (in regards to amount and even color if desired) through a valve in said socket casing.